The National Weather Service’s online map of U.S. weather alerts looked like a kaleidoscope Friday afternoon as Montana and the nation braced for a holiday weekend of blizzards, avalanches, bitter wind chill and deadly cold temperatures.
In Montana and northern Idaho alone, the agency issued a winter storm warning, avalanche warning, wind chill warning and a host of lesser advisories through at least Sunday. The agency predicted up to 9 inches more of snow, particularly in mountainous areas, coupled with wind chills ranging from -40 degrees to -60 degrees or colder. And an avalanche warning was in effect for the mountains of northern Idaho and far northwest Montana, one day after an avalanche southwest of Lookout Pass and south of Mullan, Idaho, killed one skier.
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The cold was already well settled in across the state Friday, with midday temperatures of -12 degrees in Missoula, -8 degrees in Hamilton, -13 degrees in Kalispell, -3 degrees near Libby, -21 degrees in Helena, -20 degrees in Butte, -22 degrees in Great Falls, -15 degrees in Bozeman and -10 degrees in Billings. And that was just air temperature, without wind chill.
The blisteringly cold conditions were the product of an arctic airmass that flowed southward from Canada into central and eastern Montana by the middle of the week. By Thursday night the frigid air spilled westward over the Continental Divide into western Montana in what meteorologists call a “backdoor front” because it moves the opposite direction of normal prevailing winds and weather systems. A similar phenomenon delivered near-record lows across Montana in late December 2022.
The cold elevates the risk of water pipes freezing in homes and other buildings, according to public works officials and first responders. It also will likely result in unusually high demand for natural gas and electricity used for heat, according to utility companies. And the frigid conditions are especially harrowing for people who do not have housing or other shelter, or a way to keep warm. In such conditions, frostbite can set in on exposed skin in less than five minutes, and it’s dangerous to travel or be outside for any amount of time.
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Beckett Redinger, communications coordinator at Missoula‘s Poverello Center shelter, said Friday that 105 people stayed at the facility’s primary shelter Thursday night and 171 people stayed at the organization’s Johnson Street shelter. During warmer weather, he said, the facilities usually close for cleaning at some point each day. But with the deadly cold outside, “We’re not asking that anyone leave the building at this time.”
Information on the Poverello Center, located at 1110 W. Broadway, is available at 406-728-1809. Information on the Johnson Street shelter, located at 1919 North Avenue West, is available at 406-529-4185. And the Homeless Outreach Team, which provides assistance to people who decline to enter a shelter, can be reached at 406-728-7955.
Redinger said that the outreach team was checking on people outside in Missoula on Friday and distributing supplies to help people endure the cold. The team had been tracking the incoming arctic air, he said, and was prepared for it.
But the team can always use more supplies to distribute. On Thursday the Poverello Center released a “plea to the community to make sure our unhoused neighbors are warm and nourished through this cold snap.” Both the primary Poverello shelter and the Johnson Street facility are accepting donated blankets, coats, hand warmers, canned food, coffee and non-perishable snacks. The Poverello also maintains an online Amazon wish-list of items that people can order for delivery to the shelters.
The Butte Rescue Mission, 610 E. Platinum St. in Butte, will be open 24/7 until further notice. They can be reached at 406-782-0925.
"Please, if you are seeking shelter come warm up, have a meal, or stay awhile," the Rescue Mission wrote in a Facebook post Friday morning.
In Kalispell, the Flathead Warming Shelter at 889 North Meridian was planning to operate day and night through the cold weather. The shelter can be reached at 406-885-3042. The Samaritan House, at 124 9th Ave. West, added additional space for people seeking refuge from the cold. More information is available at 406-257-5801.
In Great Falls, the Great Falls Rescue Mission is open all day during the cold weather. The men’s shelter can be reached at 406-761-0095; the women’s shelter at 406-452-1483; and the Cameron Family Center at 406-761-2145. The facility is located at 408 2nd Avenue South.
HRDC’s Warming Center in Bozeman issued what’s called a “code blue,” meaning that the shelter will be open 24/7 and those who have been prohibited from staying at the shelter due to behavior issues will also be allowed to return. The emergency status will run from 7 a.m. Friday to 7 p.m. Monday. Information is available at 406-556-1123.
A code blue is used when the high for the day is forecast to be in the single digits or lower. Having to issue a code blue is not new — the shelter had to make the declaration multiple times last winter season.
“This is always a very necessary, but costly action to take,” HRDC housing director Brian Guyer said in a statement. “While our Bozeman and Livingston overnight shelters are not currently funded to be open during daytime hours, we are extremely concerned about our guests’ safety. We can use all the support our community can provide to help keep our doors open around the clock for anyone seeking a warm, safe place to stay. Getting people out of the elements is our top concern.”
Bozeman’s emergency shelter is constantly fundraising in an attempt to keep its doors open as much as they can. The facility can house 120 people and it has already surpassed 100 guests this season even in more favorable temperatures.
The rate of homelessness Bozeman has been dramatically rising over the last couple years. According to the 2023 annual “point in time” count — which measures how many people are unhoused on a single night — the number of people experiencing homelessness in Bozeman and Livingston rose 41% from the year prior. Before that, the rate of homelessness in Bozeman increased by 35% from 2019 to 2021.
Bozeman’s Warming Center is located at 2015 Wheat Drive. Children and families are also welcome to stay.
Billings has two primary shelters serving different communities.
The Montana Rescue Mission downtown is a private, Christian shelter that’s operated for more than 70 years and focuses on providing shelter, training and services for those looking to get off the street, tackle addiction and find work. The shelter is located at 2822 Minnesota Ave.; more information is available at (406) 259-6079.
The Community Crisis Center, at 704 North 30th St., offers one-time overnight services. The facility provides immediate crisis care and connects individuals with a case worker and services within a 24-hour stay. Information is available at (406) 259-8800.
Infrastructure
On Friday, Missoula Water Superintendent Mike Henehan said he wasn’t aware of any issues with public water infrastructure due to cold temps, but that piping in homes and buildings was more susceptible to freezing and bursting.
Problems usually arise in homes with inadequate exterior insulation, with remodeled basements that inadvertently insulate pipes from receiving interior heat, or in mobile homes with non-functioning heat tape underneath. Leaving faucets on at a trickle can prevent pipes from freezing by keeping water moving, but it also wastes water. Running water is generally advised only in homes with known pipe-freezing problems. Normally, opening cabinets and heating basements to make sure indoor heat reaches pipes is usually enough.
Frigid forecasts
In Missoula, the National Weather Service on Friday predicted an overnight low of -20 degrees with a wind chill of -31 degrees into Saturday. The agency forecast a high of -1 degree Saturday with a wind chill of -33 degrees. That was followed by -22 degrees with a wind chill of -32 degrees overnight into Sunday. But Sunday could be 5 degrees — above zero — with calm winds, then -18 degrees overnight to Monday, which was predicted to hit 7 degrees during the day before dropping to -7 degrees overnight.
Kalispell was forecast to be-32 degrees Friday night with a wind chill of -43 degrees. Although the high there Saturday was predicted to be -9 degrees, the wind chill during the day was forecast to still be -43 degrees. Saturday night was predicted to see -22 degrees with a -31-degree wind chill, then 1 degree Sunday with a -19-degree low overnight into Monday’s high of 1 degree.
Helena was forecast to hit -37 degrees Friday night with a -45-degree wind chill. Saturday was predicted to be -10 degrees with a -35-degree wind chill, before dropping overnight to a low of -24 degrees. Sunday was forecast to hit -3 degrees, then -23 degrees overnight into Monday and a high of 2 degrees Monday.
Butte was forecast to drop down to -32 degrees Friday night with calm winds, then a high of zero degrees Saturday with a wind chill of -30 degrees. Saturday night into Sunday was predicted to plunge to -34 degrees with a wind chill at -43 degrees, before Sunday’s high of 8 degrees. Sunday night could hit -23 degrees before a predicted high of 7 degrees Monday.
Bozeman was predicted to hit -31 degrees with a -40-degree wind chill overnight from Friday to Saturday, then a high of -8 degrees with a wind chill of -40 degrees Saturday. Saturday night Bozeman’s low was predicted to hit -20 degrees with a wind chill of -30 degrees, before a high of -2 degrees Sunday. Then it’s a predicted overnight low of -20 degrees and a high of 1 degree Monday.
Great Falls was predicted to be even colder, with a forecast -39 degrees Friday night and a wind chill at -50 degrees. Saturday’s high was predicted to be -10 degrees with a -50-degree wind chill, before dropping to -32 degrees with a -40-degree wind chill overnight into Sunday. Sunday’s high was a predicted -11 degrees, then -28 degrees overnight and a high of 6 degrees Monday.
Billings was forecast to hit -25 degrees with a -40-degree wind chill Friday night, then a high Saturday of -11 degrees with a -40-degree wind chill. Similarly, Saturday night was forecast to be -26 degrees with a -40-degree wind chill. Sunday could hit -5 degrees, while that night was forecast to hit -19 degrees before rising to a high of 4 degrees Monday.
Victoria Eavis and Rob Rogers contributed to this story.